Motorcycling and pollution: an unusual cause of arrythmia?

Published this week in Journal of Medical Case Reports is the unusual case of a 43-year-old motorcyclist who suffered cardiac extrasystoles and heart palpitations just two weeks after he began riding a lightweight motorbike to work. A diagnosis of premature ventricular complexes (PVCs) in bigeminy was made and the patient rested for two weeks. The PVCs stopped during this period but resumed once he started using his motorbike on the same route to commute to work. With no other obvious explanation for the PVCs Dr Kent Emilsson suggests an association between air pollution and PVCs.

We already know of a worrying link between carbon monoxide from vehicles and ventricular arrhythmias, but so far previous reports are on patients with existing heart problems. To the best of the author’s knowledge this is the first report of this kind in relation to lightweight motorbike use.

For the full clinical information on this case, patient follow-up and how Dr Emilsson arrived at this conclusion please read his case report.